We are a little less than two weeks from the kick off of the 2015 George Lindsey UNA Film Festival, and boy has it been an adventure getting here. We moved to a new film submission platform this year, and we ended up with nearly 3000 submission, ten times our average number. We pulled in judges from all over North America to handle the submissions, and they did an excellent job in providing us an amazing group of finalists. We are excited to share these films with our audiences; you can see the screening schedule over on our schedule page. Many of the filmmakers will be in attendance; some coming from as far as Spain and Germany, and we hope you are on hand to meet them. Joining this year’s film lineup are a few special events you won’t want to miss. 15 year old neuroscientist Michelle Marquez will be presenting her research at 3pm on Friday, March 6. This might not sound like your typical film festival fare, but Michelle’s research is in the connection between art and the brain, specifically, what is the scientific explanation for the brain’s emotional response to artistic stimuli like music and film. Michelle has spoken about her work throughout the world and has done a TEDx talk, which includes a short film she produced to illustrate her research. We’re excited to welcome Michelle to the Lindsey Fest. Speaking of the connection between art and the emotion, our special panel this year is comprised of music supervisors who must consider just that in their work. Grammy Award winning songwriter and performer John Paul White will moderate a panel discussion from music supervisors Dave Jordan (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Avengers, Agent Carter, Empire), Juliette Jordan (Alvin and the Chipmunks, Pitch Perfect, Pitch Perfect 2), Thomas Golubić (Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Six Feet Under), and Andrea von Foerster (Fantastic 4, Dollhouse, The Cabin in the Woods, Grey’s Anatomy). The panel is at 7pm on Friday, March 6. Shoals area musicians should take note; these supervisors are always scouting for new music! Filmmaker Aaron Wolf brought us a comedy last year for a special screening, and this year he will screen his new short film, The Walk, a story of “a young Jewish boy growing up in late 1980s Brooklyn, who meets an older Jewish man, Alfred, outside the local synagogue soon after the death of his father. The two quickly strike up a friendship as Alfred imparts life lessons during their walks through the neighborhood, to and from Temple. Over twenty years later, Danny will learn a whole new lesson he never saw coming.” The Walk is sponsored by the Shoals Interfaith Council and screens at 4:30 on Friday, March 6. Aaron will take the stage again this year as one of the MCs, along with Natalie Canerday, of the Annual Awards Show, 7pm, Saturday, March 7.These are the scheduled events of this year’s festival, but if you’ve joined us in the past, you know there will be many spontaneous special moments we can’t predict. And you have to be there to experience them. We look forward to seeing you and sharing those special moments with you at this year’s George Lindsey UNA Film Festival.